James S. (James Smith) Findley

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1926, James Smith Findley developed an interest in wildlife at an early age. After serving in Japan during World War II, he studied at Western Reserve University and earned a Ph.D. from the University of Kansas in 1955, where he worked under mammalogist E. Raymond Hall.

Findley spent most of his academic career at the University of New Mexico, teaching biology and building major collections at the Museum of Southwestern Biology. He published more than 100 scientific papers, with special attention to bats, shrews, biogeography, ecology, and the mammals of New Mexico. He also mentored 26 doctoral students and 34 master's students.

His books include Bats: A Community Perspective, Mammals of New Mexico, The Natural History of New Mexican Mammals, and Birds in Corrales. After retiring in 1992, he continued studying wildlife, writing about natural history, and advocating for the protection of the Río Grande's riparian habitats. He died in Corrales, New Mexico, in 2018.